Ohio’s, and her crush depth is ten times greater. But moving slowly and not too deep for Ohio’s hull, even though the latter ship is half again as long, both vessels have fairly comparable stealth; as an ex-boomer, Ohio is superbly quiet. Challenger has eight torpedo tubes and her torpedo room holds almost sixty weapons. Ohio has room for only a dozen torpedoes and decoys, with four torpedo tubes. But Challenger holds only twelve Tactical Tomahawks in her vertical launching system, compared to over a hundred on Ohio even with her large SEAL complement comfortably housed. Furthermore, Challenger has little room for SEALs, and can only take one eight- man team, led by Lieutenant Estabo. Commander McCollough, on Ohio, will command the much larger SEAL company there. Both, and I stress both, ships’ SEALs are under Captain Fuller’s overall command.”
Commander McCollough and Felix both said, “Understood.” Parcelli seemed more irritated than ever. Hodgkiss continued, his voice clipped and all business.
“Challenger will serve as fast-attack sub protection for Ohio while transiting the Atlantic to the area of operations, and also after completing the mission. Once in the Med, however, Ohio will serve as an arsenal ship for Challenger. If despite all your precautions the task group is detected and attacked while in the Med, Ohio’s missiles and SEAL teams will provide essential heavy-fire support. Captain Fuller, for your information all of Ohio’s Tactical Tomahawks have the new high-explosive multivalent warhead and sensor package. Each can attack a ship or a moderately hardened target on land with equally high kill probability. One of Ohio’s silos is sleeved with a canister holding forty-two Polyphem antiaircraft missiles as well.” Subsonic, and launched from underwater, Polyphems could knock down antisubmarine helicopters and maritime patrol planes.
That does give us a lot of punch, though I’d hate to have to start shooting missiles. They’d give us away in an instant, acoustically and visually. But like Hodgkiss said, the missiles are a last resort.
“What loadout will Challenger get, sir?”
“I’m afraid supplies of the multivalent Tomahawks are limited. This afternoon you’ll receive six antiship and six land-attack high-explosive types. Your torpedo room is reserved for torpedoes, decoys, a handful of Polyphems, and off-board probes.” A torpedo tube could hold four Polyphems at once.
“Understood. What torpedoes?”
Hodgkiss became more serious, as if he himself was worried. “This ties in with the rules of engagement for Task Group 47.2. Notice that in the Mediterranean, every point of the sea is within two hundred nautical miles of part of the land.”
People knew this, implicitly, but even so a ripple of concern went around the room — not the least from Jeffrey. It meant that by the Joint Chiefs of Staff global ROEs for employing tactical atomic weapons at sea — as approved in advance by the president — inside the Med Challenger and Ohio could use no nuclear warheads even to defend themselves.
“I see you’ve figured it out,” Hodgkiss said. “I’m sorry, but this is how it has to be.”
The Axis won’t be so reluctant to go nuclear, especially near occupied North Africa, especially against Challenger and especially with their intentions for Plan Pandora.
“Because Ohio’s prime purpose is to serve as Challenger’s escort while in the Med, and, as I say, she can only carry twelve units in her small torpedo room, Ohio’s fish will remain as they are, all conventional high-explosive Improved Mark 48 ADCAPs.”
Parcelli seemed less and less pleased by the minute to have drawn this assignment.
“Challenger, however, will receive a mix of high-explosive ADCAPs and tactical- nuclear deep-capable Mark Eighty-eights.
“Sir?” Jeffrey asked.
“You have to cross the entire Atlantic from west to east, and later get your prize defector safely back to the States. Out in blue water, we don’t know what you’ll face, right? You might need to use nukes there. This way you will have the nukes.”
“I run defense for Ohio outside the Med.”
Parcelli snorted, as if to advertise that he was perfectly able to take care of himself.
Great, Jeffrey thought. This guy’ll be a joy to work with.
“There is one other thing, I’m afraid, Captain Fuller. Ohio’s salvage by the enemy, once scuttled, is deemed acceptable by the Pentagon. Provided of course that all crypto gear and classified sonar software are destroyed, and the crew follow the code of conduct for being taken prisoner of war. Ohio’s basic construction and hardware are old, or were made public several years ago, or are already known to the Axis through spies who worked for the Soviet Union and then Russia during the 1980s and later, after Ohio was built and then converted. If the task group gets in serious trouble inside the Med, Ohio’s purpose is to act aggressively, salvo her weapons at worthwhile targets as rapidly as possible, to hurt the enemy as much as we can and draw attention and fire away from Challenger, improving the latter’s chances of escaping and completing the defector extraction alone.”
“We’re counting on the enemy not expecting a pair of our nuclear boats to be working in partnership inside the Med? If they do detect one sub, they’ll prosecute the contact but it won’t occur to them to look for another sub in tandem right there?”
Parcelli sat stone-faced. Admiral Hodgkiss pressed on.
“Challenger is at all cost to avoid capture intact or nearly intact in the Med. Nor are any of her crew to be taken alive for interrogation, including as internees in neutral countries. Your state-of-the-art technology and capabilities are simply too valuable to be allowed to fall into enemy hands.”
Jeffrey waited. He knew he wouldn’t like what came next.
“The president has approved a modification to the ROEs, for this mission alone. There is one place, here.” Hodgkiss nodded to Johansen, who typed, and a red dot appeared on the map. “Here, essentially at the middle of a line from the southeastern tip of Sicily cutting across and down to the northeastern tip of Libya, separation from land is at its maximum in all directions, almost two hundred nautical miles. The water there, at twelve thousand feet, is also one of the deepest parts of the Med. Your orders, Captain Fuller, are that if in the last extreme your ship becomes trapped in the Med and is in immediate danger of capture or of being sunk, you are to make your best efforts to transfer your special new passenger, if extracted, to Ohio if the tactical situation permits, and then proceed to this point. Dive to the bottom and self-destruct with your own atomic torpedoes.”
